Rosalind's Inbox: Should Teachers and Students Be Friends on Facebook?

Rosalind answers a question from a high school principal whose faculty is disagreeing about whether it's appropriate for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook.

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• Facebook
• students
• teachers
• principals
• cyberbullying

[BoinkHD]

no because that leads to students having sex with teachers

[joeyman62995]

iroment of unwanted favoritism, which isn't fair to the other students and hurts the student in the long run. Plus, what if I am working on a project and I have hit a roadblock in it so I wanna vent on Facebook? I'm sure my teacher would not like hearing about what a lousy bum he or she is. That being said and set aside, I would not mind friending any of my former teachers, but current teachers being friends with students just has too many negative consequences.

[joeyman62995]

I am a fifteen year old student in high school and I would never be friends with any of my teachers on Facebook. It's not that I don't like them, but I feel that it crosses a line that should exist between teachers and students. That is that I don't think teachers should really be friends with their students. If this happens, then the student may lose a degree of respect for the teacher because he or she sees them as equal rather than a figure to be respected. In addition, this may create an env

[socoolbob]

It's easy to see how a person who thinks the best thing about Facebook could be it's use a reconnaissance would think it's a bad idea for kids and adults to be Facebook friends. What we all individually and collectively need is to learn and experience more about the process of setting and achieving positive goals ... and Facebook can definitely help.

[socoolbob]

Interestingly enough, as a positive thinking student and trainer I have recently added the goal of participating in  a process to actually achieve World Peace.

A difficult goal - assignment - for sure! However, knowing what I know about what happens to human beings who do it and become good at it I am also becoming convinced that Facebook is a part of the answer ... that Kids teaching Kids is a part of the answer and that stopping this process because of FEAR is NOT. More to follow.

[sonomamarinfair]

How interesting ... I am a student and teacher of positive thinking for approximately 35 years. I am a web publisher since 1995. I am a positive goal setter who has recently added the goal of helping to establish World Peace ... a difficult goal? yes? But anyone who has a history of experience with self and others setting positive goals will believe ... it can be done ... even if they don't yet know how. I'm currently believing that Facebook and Friends is a part of the answer.

[steevmoor]

I have heard a lot about this recently as I am going to be a teacher and it is discussed from time to time in my education classes. I find it interesting that in the majority of the debates, many people debate about how appropriate "friending" is while betraying a commonly held presupposition - There is only one way to facebook. Adaptive schools will, rather than banning activity, set up technology protocols to follow so that the teacher/student communication process is open and transparent.

[Brmiller17]

kjb4evahotmail, why do YOU think its a problem if the students are currently attending school?

[Brmiller17]

It seems like your focus is solely on the potentially negative possibilities that could result from the "facebook friendship." Even your discussion of one of the positive aspects, reconnaissance, is only advantageous insomuch as it allows teachers to covertly obtain information to use against the students. What about developing positive relationships to reach students in and outside of the classroom and having a personal connection with students. Do we not trust teachers at all?

[kjb4evahotmail]

i can understand where its a problem if students are currently atending school, they add the teachers wantin to be friends, but what i dont get, is why they still ignore the students EVEN after the student graduates..i mean they not our teachers no more, and yet, they still ignore us